Cracked Roads
by HelaDaughterofLoki
Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC
1. Hibiki

So this is the first story that I have ever post on Fanfiction! I have written before but have never published them before so I hope you all like this story! Though I guess you all must be kind of getting bored of all the OC inserts and SI's that are popping up all of a sudden... hahaha. Anyway, hope you find this story worthy of your time and that you enjoy it! By the way the chapters will get longer as the story goes on... so yeah.

If you don't like this story check out Dreaming of Sunshine, What Doesn't Kill You, or Shadowed Sun! These are all _really_ great stories that you should all check out! So you all go do that... :D

Cracked Roads

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word count: 530

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"If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character… Would you slow down? Or speed up?" – Chuck Palahniuk

Prologue

I'm sure that you've heard of this before, right? You know, of how a fan of Naruto _somehow_ ends up being reincarnated into the series. And _somehow_ they are _magically _born into Konoha in the time frame where Naruto is born and they become a _huge help_ for him by befriending him. Then they all get stronger together, stop major characters that they favour from dying and live _happily ever after_.

This is not one of those stories, _by a long shot_.

For one thing, I only watched the first hundred or so episodes of the damned series before I got bored (up until Kazekage Gaara had been brought back to life). I only knew about the important things like Tobito and Pein because a friend of mine had been hopelessly obsessed and thought I would like updates whenever something big happened in the series, or whenever she just wanted to gush. I'm glad she did now, but it had been very annoying at the time.

And for another, I wasn't even born in Konoha! Ha, I wish! Imagine my surprise when I finally figured out where the hell I was born.

I was, wait for it, born in… _Iwagakure_. Dun dun duuuuuun.

Imagine my face when I was finally able to focus on the markings on the hitai-ate the shinobi of the village (my 'parents' where civilians) wore. Oh, by then I had figured out that I had been reincarnated (I was a baby for Christ's sake!), and that I was in the world of Naruto (kind of hard to deny when people are jumping on the roofs, and making pillars of earth appear out of thin air). Yeah, let me just say that that wasn't a good day for the people that I called 'parents'. They had to look after an inconsolable _hysterically_ crying 2 month old baby, who they actually hadn't even really wanted.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

And the worst of it? It wasn't long before I realised that the Third Shinobi World War was brewing on the horizon.

_Yeah_.

This isn't a story about how I wanted to make a change for the better in this world, or even how I go about making myself stronger to protect those that I care about. Honestly, I was ready to go into hiding and say 'fuck it they can deal with this shitstorm themselves', but you see I was never given a choice in the matter of becoming a shinobi. _No_, I am not a Jinchuuriki (I _wish_ I had been given that power boost!), nor am I a part of some major clan in Iwagakure that will give me some major godly power that makes me invincible, or an Uzumaki that will master the art of Sealing or even related to _any_ clan for that matter. I was from a civilian family and had little contact with ninja in general my first year. Your probably thinking by now "if she didn't want to be a ninja the how the hell is all this shit relevant?".

Well, read and find out.

My name is Hibiki and this is how I survived growing up in this hellhole.

* * *

Japanese words:

Hibiki- echo/sound

Jinchuuriki- power of the human sacrifice / container of the Bijuu

Bijuu- Tailed Beasts

Iwagakure- Village Hidden in the Stone

Shinobi- ninja

Hitai-ate – shinobi forehead protector

I hope you all liked the prologue! Have a good day everyone!

~Hela


	2. My Brother

For those of you who actually read past the prologue I thank you for giving my story a chance! I hope you like the first chapter!

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word count: 1511

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"The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves." -William Penn

Chapter 1

Being reborn again wasn't so bad. Then again, I don't really remember much other than "holy crap its cold!" and "what the hell is happening!". So I had that going for me at least.

The worst of it was being unable to do anything interesting. Luckily, I had someone who spent most of the day entertaining me.

It wasn't my 'parents' if that's what you're thinking.

For the first couple of months my 'parents' weren't _bad_ per se, but they just weren't the most prominent people in my life. You could tell that they hadn't really wanted another child; I mean my name was _echo_ for crying out loud! And they most definitely didn't want a girl since Hibiki was a _boy_ name. Honestly, the most they did was feed and bathe me.

No, the most important person to me was Katashi, my older brother. He was a cute little kid; he even had dimples! We shared the colour of our eyes, emerald green, but that was about it. While I had dull brown hair, his was a beautiful black that somewhat had a blue sheen to it: while I had a slightly tanned looking complexion, he was as pale as porcelain: while his face was always smiling, mine was almost always set in a frown. Others differences were given; boy-girl, older-young, normal-odd. The last one was for when they started noticing that I didn't really react like most children, I reacted like… well like an adult most times and I think that that unnerved them. We were polar opposites; I guess that was why Katashi was our parent's favourite.

He was also the one who spent the majority of the time with me, whether it was reading a story to me (he was six, so he could at least do that) or just holding me close when he was playing with something. I would always be grateful for these moments.

This was one of those times.

"-And that's how the Great Ninja saved the princess and they married because of how awesome he was," he said excitedly, while showing me a picture book. On the page were pigs and cows.

… I said he _could_ read, I didn't say that he was good at it. He didn't really read to me _per se_, he usually just made up his own story along the way. It was entertaining most times, but sometimes I found myself unable to fully comprehend his babble.

But I gurgled happily at him anyway because while it was tedious this was basically the only human contact that I had on a regular basis.

He grinned at me, "Kiki-chan, you really like my stories, right?" at my gummy smile he laughed, "Then how 'bout I tell you of how the Great Ninja saved the world! You'll like this one-"then he went on about another grand tale of the ninja that could save everyone.

Besides, listening to his childish tales kept me from thinking of more… unsavoury things.

Like how 'mother' and 'father' had been talking in hushed voices whenever they thought that Katashi wasn't listening and looking at me whenever they did it. Or how they were steadily acting colder towards me and how they limited the contact that Katashi and I had. It smelt fishy to me and really bothered me. Because ever since Katashi entered the Academy the time I had been cut short and then they go and try to cut it even shorter! I didn't put up with it and pitched a fit whenever I thought they were being unfair about it. Hmph, like I'd let them take my brother away from me!

Another thing that bothered me was that war was brewing.

Whenever I was taken out, which wasn't often mind you, I could hear the whispers and snatches of conversations that led me to find out what time period that I was reborn in. And it was one of the things that my parents actually _talked_ about that they allowed Katashi to listen in on. It was mostly so that they could puff up his ego and say that he was going to be the best shinobi ever and all that jazz. _Bleh_.

I honestly _felt _like an echo in this family. I was there, but just as an afterthought.

Is it bad that I found that more disturbing than finding out that a war between fucking NINJA was about to happen?

Sometimes living here was almost as bad as the day that I died.

I quickly shook my head as I heard the front door open. Bad thoughts!

I looked over and saw Haruka, my 'mother'. Well, her name was appropriate, at least when it came to her interactions with me.

She was pretty, in a severe sense. Katashi took after her more than 'father', anyway. Her hair was a bit duller than Katashi's, no blue shine alas, and it was always in a tight ass bun. Her eyes were a light brown, and were rather small when compared to her face, like she was squinting at you. Her pale face would have looked pretty if she wasn't always scowling. I mean she constantly looked like she had something up her ass, and the only time I had seen something other than a glower on her face was when she was talking to Katashi. And her frame was rather small and frail looking; you could tell that she was a civilian. Add to the fact that she always wearing dreary colours (black and grey being the most part of her wardrobe) and she was just a ray of sunshine to be around. _Not._

Out of the two people I had the _pleasure _of calling 'parents' she was the one that I disliked the most.

She ignored my existent to the point that I could cry for hours on end and she would barely bat an eyelash. I was lucky that the 'father' wasn't as bad.

As if on cue the man in question entered the room.

Naoki was a very sturdy looking man. He had a large built and was fairly tall. He was the one that I took after most. His face was average and his eyes were the colour of emeralds, it was his best feature and where Katashi and I got our eyes from. He had tanned skin from working outside and had the muscles to show for it. But again you could tell that the man was no shinobi, he had little grace and was as loud as a bull in a china shop. He was the one that usually fed me, if Katashi wasn't around, 'cause the smart little kid took over that job as well most of the time. And he wasn't as bad as Haruka, he actually smiled at me sometimes!

Though, the little bit of warmth that he sometimes showed me usually left when Haruka was in the room.

Katashi carefully removed me from his lap, gave me a kiss on the forehead and set me on a large pile of pillows next him, then went to go greet Haruka along with Naoki.

I guess it showed how little they cared about me when they let a six year old look after a seven month old baby.

I felt jealousy creep up my throat as I watched the family interact.

I watched as Haruka was greeted at the door by Naoki with a gentle kiss, and how she smiled as Katashi told her about his day at the Academy (things that he had told _me_ first). How she hugged him fiercely with a sense of protectiveness that I had never seen from anyone I had ever known, in this life or the one before. And I watched in envy as Naoki picked up Katashi (_my_ brother) and the _happy _fucking family shared one of those freaking Kodak moments, where everything was perfect and nothing could go wrong. And I felt warring emotions as I watched the interaction. Even in my past life I had ever had what you could call a 'happy' family life. It had been filled with booze and drugs and _I had hated it in that place_. The gods had a messed up sense of humor if they thought it was funny that I wouldn't be able to get the happy life that I had always dreamed of _even when I am freaking reincarnated_. I felt jealousy because I knew that Naoki and Haruka would never show that kind of love for me, that was a given, but I also felt… _guilt_. For feeling these toward my _brother_, who had all the rights to feel loved and cared for because he was so _kind_ and _nice_ and _I loved him_.

With that in mind I forced all the jealousy and the bad feelings down, into the deep recesses of my mind where I hoped that they would never resurface.

But, as I watched the scene of happiness and love before me, I knew that that was easier said than done.

* * *

Katashi- firm/hard

Haruka- far off/ distant

Naoki- straight tree

~Hela


	3. Icecream and Terror

Wow! I have 2 reviews, 5 favourites, and 9 follows! I feel so loved! Thank you to all who read my story and here is the second chapter I hope you like it! And sorry it took so long to update but this is a long chapter so I hope that this makes up for it!

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word count: 3574

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"I don't take things for granted, because everything feels more fragile. It's made me wonder about mortality and how long you've got somebody in the world. I'm more fearful than I used to be." - Robin Gibb

Chapter 2

I was excited.

I was going outside for a change. I would be able to see the sky. I would be able to see people. I would able to breathe _fresh air_. Oh, I was getting giddy just thinking about!

But there was another reason that I was excited.

It was my first birthday in the Naruto Universe. And after Katashi had told me "Happy Birthday!" when I woke up this morning I had realised something. I had successfully survived in Iwagakure for _12 months_ without anything major happening! Hahaha! Take _that_ every OC insert fanfiction I have ever read! I have proved you wrong! It is possible to have a normal life here! Hahaha!

Yeah, I might have just jinxed myself. Oh well.

I fingered the lightning black opal necklace that Katashi had given me and smiled. It was the first present I had ever gotten in this world and I couldn't have asked for a better one. The necklace was a somewhat thick leather that was a little long, but I knew it was would fit better as I grew older. The stone itself was an oval that was clear on the outside until you got to the centre and then it became a blue and black that looked like a mix between smoke and, well, lightning.

I loved it.

Anyway, the reason I was so excited to be taken outside and actually see what Iwa looked like, because all the other times (all 5 of them), I had been more interested in what was going on around me than anything else. But come on, if you see people spitting huge globs of mud or making pillars of earth or _roof hopping_ (and jumping like twenty metres doing it!), I'm pretty sure that you would pay more attention to that than what the architecture looked like!

So as I waddled (I could somewhat walk, which is probably why I was allowed to go outside) over to where Katashi was with my shoes in hand, and presented them to him.

"K'tashi-nii, shoe," I said, and then pointed to my feet, hoping he would understand. After all, I was still only a year old and needed help getting dressed.

He looked a little confused, but when I pointed again he got the message.

Once we were all ready we walked over to where Naoki and Haruka were waiting. It was a family outing and it made a warm feeling in my stomach just thinking about that. I shook my head and tried to keep up with Katashi as he followed our parents. We all left the house together with Katashi holding my hand and leading the way. It was slow going, mostly because I would randomly stop to stare at the buildings. But come on, they were make out of solid rock! I'm not even joking, there were three story building made out of rock! How did I not notice this before? This was amazing! I mean it was all so detailed! Not just blocks of stone, but they were in the shape of houses and had roof tiles and everything! It was so neat!

I think I made a pretty odd sight, a little girl with her mouth wide open and green eyes wide.

I heard a chuckle next to me and my head snapped over to look.

I saw Katashi looking at me with a giant smile on his face, "Iwa looks really cool, huh Kiki-chan?" I nodded and continued looking around.

I felt him tugging at my hand and frowned at him.

He looked at my face and laughed, "I know you wanna look around Kiki-chan, but we need to go if we're going to catch Tsuchikage-sama's speech!"

I froze in shock.

The Tsuchikage? As in _the most powerful ninja in all of Iwa?_

I let go of Katashi's hand, turned around and started to waddle my way back home. Nope, screw this.

I felt hands grab me from underneath my armpits and I squirmed. Dammit Katashi! Can't you see that I don't want to go! This is kidnapping! Huh, a kid getting kidnapped by a kid! Hehehe.

I shook my head, _focus!_ I squirmed some more.

"Ne ne, Kiki-chan! I asked Kaa-san and Tou-san and they said that after Tsuchikage-sama's speech we can go get some ice-creaam~!" he felt me still, and he pushed even further, "They even have chocolate flavour~," Katashi sang knowing he had won, because the little bugger knew about my sweet tooth. He knew about it from sneaking me some chocolate one day and I had gobbled it up within seconds.

Sweets, my only weakness!

When he saw me defeated expression the little bugger actually had the audacity to grin smugly!

I scowled and bit the hand still holding me. I smirked when I hear Katashi yelp. Ha-ha, and score one for the little sister!

He placed me on my feet and, after rubbing his hand free of my bite marks, took my hand, "Now come on, Kiki-chan, Tou-san and Kaa-san are already really far ahead!"

I looked up, and saw that indeed Naoki and Haruka had managed to get a fair distance away from Katashi and I while I had been preoccupied.

As we walked I got to get a good look of where we were going. While the buildings here were fairly large, three stories for most, there was one in the distance that towered over all the other the others. It was more than likely the Iwa equivalent to the Hokage's Tower. There also appeared to be a town square of sorts in front of it, which was where lots of people were crowding. Haruka and Naoki were among the people in the square. We walked up to them and headed up to the front of the crowd in hope of being closer to the Tsuchikage.

Well, they walked, I was dragged by Katashi. Hey, when you have to get close to one of the most powerful ninja, _then_ you can judge me. Until then, you cannot imagine what it feels like to be in the presence of someone who could _literally_ kill you in seconds without batting an eye. No. Just no.

By the time that we had pushed through the majority of the crowd the Tsuchikage was already standing at the top steps that lead to the tower and was standing on what looked like a… podium? I could see him fairly clearly, and knew that he was about to start.

For the most part I zoned out when he gave his speech.

What? You try listening to someone talk when there were so many odd looking people around you. I mean some people actually had purple hair! Purple!

The gist of what he said was this, he told the people that they had been demeaned by Konoha for too long, that it was time that we showed them that we were the superior to them, and that this was formal declaration of war. Through the entire speech though all I could think about was how odd the guy's nose was, I mean it was so… red. And _big_. And he was so _short_. If I didn't know that the man was the strongest person in the village I would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

As the speech came to an end though there was something that caught my attention. He was talking about a new program, kind of like a training camp, that you could send your children to that would make them _amazing_ ninja. The catch however, was that once they were in the program you weren't allowed to see the children again until they became Jounin. Of course this project was just in the beginning stages and that right now they were just trying this method out mostly on the willing orphans that volunteered for the program, but he encouraged that at least a few of the people to make the 'sacrifice' for the good of the village. He then went on to say that they would get monthly payments so that they 'wouldn't feel the loss as harshly'.

Truthfully what the man said kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I mean I kept thinking that the man was basically buying your kid off you, to some unknown institution where they will be taught who knows what by some random person. However, the way the man spun it made everyone think that the program would be some great place for kids. It gave me the chills to know that the man had everyone basically eating out of his hand with only a few words.

And as I looked up to the faces of Naoki and Haruka I could tell that they were just as enamoured by the man's speech as the rest of the crowd.

That didn't sit well with me.

As the Tsuchikage finished his speech Katashi asked if we could go get some ice cream now. Haruka nodded and pulled out a change purse from the kimono that she was dressed in. She then gave a couple of coins to Katashi.

Katashi took the money eagerly, but when he looked at it closer he frowned.

"Kaa-san, this is only enough money for one ice cream," he said, looking upset, "What about Kiki-chan?"

Haruka looked like she just bit a lemon, before she took a deep breath and tried for a smile, "Now Katashi-chan, Hibiki is too young to have ice cream," I could see that she really didn't want me to have an ice cream cone so I figured that I would make sure that I got one, just to spite her.

I tugged on Katashi's pant leg, gave him the biggest puppy-dog eyes that that I could manage and I even sniffled a little to add to the effect, "No ice cream?" I said, making my bottom lip tremble a little to complete my look.

He looked at me for a moment (probably shocked that I was acting like a child for once) before a determined light came into his eyes, "Kaa-san, can Kiki-chan please have an ice cream cone, too? I mean it is her _birthday _after all, and you wouldn't want her to be upset on her _birthday_, _right_?" he said, making sure to project his voice so that the people still in the square could hear him. And when the people started giving me pitying looks and judgemental stares at Haruka I knew that we had won.

I loved the fact that my brother, despite being a complete sweetheart most of the time, could be a devious rascal when he wanted something bad enough.

I mean, I felt bit bad about manipulating Katashi like that, but when Haruka gave the money for an extra ice cream cone over to Katashi (and looking very bitter about it) and he gave me the biggest grin ever I knew that he wouldn't be mad. After all, I was his little sister and he would forgive me no matter what happened.

So as we went to the ice cream parlour and ate our ice cream, vanilla for him and chocolate for me, I knew that I would never take for granted this bond. That despite the fact that I was from another world and was a little messed in the head I knew I would always be accepted by this young, innocent boy and that no matter if he became a ninja and murdered people I knew that he would always be my brother. And while Haruka and Naoki weren't the best parents, I had a place to call home.

I never thought, not even for a moment, that I would be ripped apart from it.

.

.

.

That night after Katashi had put me to bed and told me a bed time story, I was jolted awake when I heard someone enter my room.

I kept my eyes closed when I heard them close the door. Thinking it was Katashi I shifted over so that there was more room for him. He had been making a habit of sneaking into my bed lately, so it wasn't like this was anything new. It was… nice. I mean, it was nice having someone to depend on. In my old life my older brother had never really been the touchy feely type of person, and by the time that he actually wanted to have that kind bond with me I had already gotten into the habit of keeping a distance. It was all moot-point now though; after all to him I was dead.

I waited for a moment and when a warm body didn't slide in next me I began to feel suspicious.

This wasn't Katashi, was it?

My eyes snapped open when I felt someone's big hands on my small body.

I screamed when I found myself looking at a stranger. I couldn't get a good look at their face because they wore a black face mask that covered his mouth and nose from my view. But I could tell that it was a man, who was fairly tall. He had a long scar going down the side of his face and he was dressed all black. But it was the way that he held himself, the confidence and the power that radiated from him that really bothered me. I had felt it before, when … I had been in the presence of one of the villages' ninja.

This man was a ninja.

The danger of the man was rose to a whole new level. And I found myself screaming louder.

I felt a hand smash into my face, abruptly cutting my scream off, but not before Katashi heard it.

I was scooped into the arms of the intruder when I heard my bedroom door slam open. I was thrashing, trying to get away from the man, trying to get to my brother.

"Kiki-chan!" screamed Katashi from somewhere behind the man. I saw the man wince and I looked at him weird. It was like he didn't want Katashi to be here.

The man turned around and Katashi caught sight of me in the man's arms.

Green eyes went wide as he watched the man jump (literally _jump_) to the window, which was on the other side of the room. However, before the man could open the window to escape with me in his arms, Katashi did something really stupid.

With a determined expression on his face, he ran the distance between the man and him and then, with no hesitation whatsoever, flung himself onto the man's arms. I was face to face with my brother as he struggled to get the man's iron grip off of me.

"Let go of my imouto!" Katashi yelled, as he scratched and hit my captor.

The man grunted when Katashi hit his jaw, but other than that gave no sign that Katashi was actually doing any damage.

The man gave a snarl when Katashi scratched his face, and with little effort shifted me so that he was holding me with one arm and plucked Katashi up with the other. Then he flung him across the room.

"K'tashi-nii!" I screamed. My struggles began anew as I watched as my brother flew across the room, and felt great relief when he landed on my bed. I winced though when he bounced and then flopped onto the floor. I could tell that the fall had knocked the wind out of him. Even then he was struggling to get up, to try to save me. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I watched my brother struggle to get up, only to fall.

My kidnapper then opened up the window. He jumped onto the ledge of my window before he turned to my brother. He seemed to take pity on my brother. I don't know why though, Katashi was glaring at my captor with hate filled eyes, angry tears streaming down his face.

"Sorry, kid, but orders are orders,"

Then the man jumped and I found myself blinded by the wind in my eyes. I looked back though and in a last ditch effort I screamed.

"_Katashi-nii-chan!_"

And as we got farther and farther away from the place I called home I heard a similar cry to mine, but filled with so much sadness, resonate through the village.

**_"_****_Kiki-chan!"_**

.

.

.

I was brought to a warehouse of sorts.

_How cliché_, I thought to myself. If you're thinking that I am taking this surprisingly well, don't. I was currently in shock at what had happened. The only reason I wasn't flipping out and screaming and crying was because I hadn't really processed what had happened yet. But just watch, as soon as I was left alone I would break down. Until then I had to figure out what the hell was going on.

I watched as the man stopped in front of the warehouse and then went to the side the door. There was a key pad there that he quickly put the correct numbers into too fast for my eyes to see.

Now that was interesting. Because the thing about living in this universe was that technology was scarce. Sure there was electricity and movie theatres and fridges and toasters and simple things like that. But a high-tech security system? Those were rare, even rarer than T.V's (which I know only the Daimyo to own for communication) so the thing was the person who was running this show was _very_ rich. What I didn't get was why they didn't just get shinobi to patrol the perimeter if they didn't want anyone getting in.

_Unless_, I thought to myself as the door opened, _they weren't trying to stop people from getting _in _but to stop them from getting _out.

It looked almost like a hospital. White walls, sterile to the max and there was the smell that made you think of sickness and death.

The room we entered was empty, but as the man walked down the hallways (they all looked the same!) I saw more and more people with the same confident grace that the man holding me had. I shivered when I realised that they were all shinobi.

The man stopped at a set of double doors. They had a keypad as well and he had to put in a code again.

The doors swung open and I was blinded by the bright light that came from the room. My captor had no such problem though as he strode into the room.

I was graced with the sounds of crying and scampering feet. My eyebrows furrowed and I opened my eyes to see what the fuss was about. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light I looked around and what I saw surprised me.

Standing in a small sort of huddling group was a group of kids. Their ages varied, a few of them looked as old as eight years old while others looked around two or three years old. I think I was the youngest kid here by the looks of it. But what really sent a chill down my spine was that all of the children, _every single one_, had a look of fear on their faces. The younger children had tears running down their faces, while the older kids were putting on a brave façade, but if you looked hard enough you would notice the faint shaking and the wild look in their eyes.

They were all terrified.

I felt my kidnapper lean down as he whispered in my ear, "Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it," I was then placed down by my captor, who was surprisingly gentle about it. But when I turned around to ask what he meant by that, as well as I could with my limited vocabulary (I was just going to shout 'why' until I got an answer), I found that he had disappeared.

As I looked around though I realised that there was another man here that I hadn't noticed before. He was a few metres from me and so I was able to get a good look at him.

Like my captor he had a scar but his went over his right eye. He was fairly tan and had wild brown hair cut so short that it was almost a buzz cut. He has a sneer on his lips and had a faint line of stubble on his chin, much like Naoki did in the mornings when he didn't bother to shave the night before. But it was his eyes that bothered me the most. They were filled with malice and a sadistic glee that sent me on edge.

"Alright kiddies," he shouted, causing the kids behind me to jump and scuttle backwards. I stared at him as he began to walk toward me, or toward the children considering I was standing a few feet in front of them. He stopped when he was in front of me. He leaned down until he was face to face with me, and there was a maniacal grin on his face now that held a slightly insane edge to it. I had to take a step back because _he scared me_.

His grin widened and as he leaned back up he said something sent fear into every child here, even mine.

"Welcome to hell, children!"

* * *

Tou-san – dad

Kaa-san - mom

Nii-chan – big brother

Imouto- little sister

Please don't hate me! But for some reason this idea came to me and I just had to go with it! Anyway sorry for the cliffhanger but I couldn't find another way to end the chapter that wouldn't seem odd or forced... hahaha... I hope that all of you who favoured and reviewed and followed me think that this chapter met up to your standards and I hope that you all continue reading my story despite the weird turn of events!

A special shout out to _Linh02 _for being the first person to review this story! Thanks so much! XD

And also thank you _iluvfairytale _for reviewing as well!

While I am not the kind of writer who pushes for reviews I do feel loved when I get them so then you two very much!

Until next time my pretties!

~Hela


	4. Blood and Anger

Yo! How is everyone today? I had a wonderful day (I got a message and a manicure, my first one ever! and I also got my hair cut! XD today was awesome!) so I thought that it would be a nice gift to all those who are reading this to add chapter 3! I hope you all like this chapter and sorry if its a bit short! ;P

Oh and to the anonymous reviewer _Afienasm_ I do recommend watching Naruto if you are reading this, but its not really necessary considering the fact that this story if going to stray from canon anyway. BUT Naruto is a really good anime so I think you should watch it! :D Just my opinion though, but it is a good anime to watch, or you could read the manga. I thank you for your review and I hope you like this chapter!

Onwards! ;3

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word count: 2123

Just a warning that this isn't the most happy chapter in the world... do with that what you will. Oh and there is some swearing, but please keep in mind that there is a reason I rated this story T. See you at the end of the chapter!

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"No matter how inured you get to atrocities, you're still always stunned and shocked by how cruel and wasteful Homo sapiens can be." -Steven Pinker

Chapter 3

The man laughed when he saw how much his words had an effect on us. After a minute he calmed down, but the sadistic glint was back.

"My name is Takeshi and I will be the one to oversee you kiddies during your stay here," He smirked, "This, children, is the Shinjun Ansatsu ya Gomon Yunitto, where we are called Shin'yu for short," what? Infiltration, Assassination and Torture Unit? What is this all about?

"By now you are all probably wondering what is going on, right? I mean, all of you were either taken from your houses or you were taken from the orphanages that you were staying at. Your all probably wondering why, right?" he didn't wait for a response, I doubt he even wanted one.

"Well, kiddies, sorry to burst your bubbles, but you have been collected from your families because they have given you over to us. Or I suppose I should say that we bought you from them," He sneered when he heard a few of the children protested.

"**Quiet!**" he shouted. I flinched at the volume and noticed the noise was gone.

He smirked again, "I'm sure that most of you have heard about the new 'program' that we have in Iwa, right? The one where we make you into jounin?" he said with some air-quotes around program. He smiled when he saw some of the older children nod.

"Well, this is it! This is the program that will make you into fine shinobi for our Tsuchikage!" he said with an insane edge to it, this guy was clearly not right in the head, "That is, if you survive your training with me!"

The man then walked a little closer to me and bent down again. Everyone was looking at the man with horrified eyes as they watched him pick me up. I shook as I felt his hands on me.

"And," he continued, looking me in the eyes, "your only hope of ever getting free of this place is if you kill me, and I will tell you now kiddies you are a long way from that yet," there was a dangerous edge to his voice that was clearly a threat. He meant if we tried to escape we would have to go against him.

No, thank you.

He shifted me so that he held me with one arm, and then went to grab something from his side. My eyes went wide as I saw that it was a kunai and I heard the terrified gasps from the other children. I couldn't take my eyes off the thing as it was brought up to my face. I trembled as I felt the cool metal against my cheek.

The man, Takeshi, then gave me a nasty smile, "And just so that you brats remember that you belong here now, I will give you… a little something to remind you all,"

I heard the slicing of my flesh before I actually felt it. But once I got over the shock that I had been _cut_, I then felt a stinging pain come from my left cheek. I felt the man drop me before he chased after the scattering children, and I heard his demented laugher as he gave each and every one the same mark that he had given me. I ignored it though as I reached my hand up to feel the new wound that I had been given. It was in the form of an X and I could feel the hot blood, _my blood_, on my fingers as I prodded the sliced skin. My hands were shaking and for some reason I felt numb, but oddly enough I couldn't stop running my fingers over my new cut.

I felt cold as I listened to the cries and screams of the children who were just like me in the sense that we had all just lost our freedom because of our parents.

I honestly didn't know what I should be feeling (angry, sad, terrified? I didn't know). So, I just sat there as I waited for the demented man named Takeshi to finish scarring the children he technically owned.

It felt like an eternity before the deed was done, but I jolted when I heard the man give a pleased sigh.

"Well, that was fun, but I think you kids have had enough excitement for one night, so I'll be sending you off to bed now!" he was grinning as he wiped the blood off his kunai, obviously satisfied with the pain he had inflicted, "Someone will be in in a minute to escort you all to your rooms so you can get cleaned up a bit. I'll see you kids in the morning!" and with that the man disappeared in a poof a smoke.

I listened to the children crying and finally lifted my eyes to see the damage done.

There were about thirty children in all, and each one now had an X shaped cut on their faces. The younger children were all wailing while holding their new wounds and the older ones were all trying to calm them even as tears were falling from their own eyes. Blood stained the white tiles of the floor and I felt bile rise in my throat as I watched the blood drip from their faces and hands. It might have been my nerves finally catching up with me, but either way I ended up leaning over to the side and hurling up my dinner.

_Huh,_ I thought distantly, _so that's what chicken looks like in your stomach._

That thought caused me to throw up even more of my dinner.

When I finally emptied my stomach completely and I was only dry heaving I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched at the contact, but the person ignored that and heaved me up anyway. I looked up and saw that the person now leading me away from the big room was a large man. I can't remember what he looked like, but I knew he was big.

The other children and I were all led away from the bloody room and down the confusing halls. I don't think I would have been able to remember anything at that point, because everything was catching up to me and I knew it was only a matter of time before my shock wore off and I was faced fully with my situation. Looking back, I noticed that many of the other children had already come to realise the situation and had a terrified look on their faces, while others just looked blank.

When we finally came to our destination most of the children were holding in their cries and starting to panic. Before it could get out of hand though we came to a door, with a keypad of course, and were ushered into the hallway on the other side.

"This will be your sleeping quarters for the duration of your stay here," said the man that I was still being led by the shoulder by, who I was leaning pretty heavily on, "Your given name will be on the front of the door, for those of you unable to read yet I will give assistance to, but if you can read I expect you to go quietly to your assigned room," he spoke brusquely and without feeling. I looked up at him blankly as all the other children quickly moved to their rooms. The younger ones asking the other children what room they were in instead of asking the man, and when almost all of the children were in their rooms the man finally looked down at me.

"Do you know your name?" he asked curtly.

I nodded.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding slightly impatient. Probably because I was the last child still not in their room.

It took me a moment to process his question, then another to remember what my name was.

"Hibiki," I answered after a minute. For some reason I sounded really distant and my voice didn't even sound like mine. And was it just me or did the man look kinda blurry all of a sudden?

The man gave me a long look, before he grabbed my hand in his and lead me a couple doors down from where we entered the hallway.

He opened the door and then pushed me in. Once the door closed I looked around, but for some reason the room wasn't registering with me.

I sat down on the bed, and looked at my bloodied hand. The blood had dried and was now chipping off.

I felt my breath get short all of a sudden and felt my eyes start to sting.

Everything that had happened to me within the last few hours finally caught up to me and I seized my hands to my chest and grasped at my necklace. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

_How could they!_ I thought to myself, furious. I had finally realised what Haruka and Naoki had done.

_No_, I thought standing up, **_how dare they!_** _How __**dare**__ those no good __**bastards**__ sell me over to that goddamn __**lunatic**__! They… they actually __**sold **__their own daughter over to some training program they knew nothing about! __**What the fuck!**_

I walked over to the nearest wall and started to hit it with all my strength. I screamed my frustration and anger to the world as I turned my knuckles blue.

I felt tears run down my face, but I didn't acknowledge them.

_Did I really mean so __**little**__ to them? Did they hate me that much that they would have me kidnapped and sold on my __**Birthday**__ of all days?_ I continued to hit the wall and scream, but my hits were becoming weaker (they weren't that strong to begin with) and my voice hoarse. _Why? Why did I have to be taken away from my brother? Why did I have to be reincarnated in the world of Naruto? Why did I have to be reborn in Iwa? Why did I have to die? Why did this happen to __**me**__?_

_"_Goddammit! **Why?**_"_I screamed as I hit the wall a final time. I watched as the skin on my knuckles broke.

"Why?" I whispered as I slid to the ground and hung my head. I felt the tears run down my cheeks and felt the sting as the salt entered my X shaped cut.

Thoughts raced in my mind as I remembered the last few months. The two of them whispering when Katashi wasn't paying attention, the animosity that Haruka showed me whenever Katashi wasn't around, the adoring look they had given the Tsuchikage when he had given his speech about the program this morning... like he had given them the solution to all their problems.

_They had wanted to get rid of me all along_, I realised.

I trembled as I finally grasped the magnitude of how unwanted I was.

I got up shakily as my body shook. I stumbled my way over to the bed and flopped down on the bed after my struggle to get up (small body, tall bed. You understand).

I hugged the pillow to my body and thought about what Naoki and Haruka were going to tell my brother about my disappearance. I can just see Haruka now "Oh, it was a freak accident, Katashi-chan, there is nothing we can do now. They are probably long gone by now," I felt bile in my throat at the thought.

I felt comfort in the fact that I knew Katashi would be distraught and upset. That was probably horrible of me, right? But all I could think of was that in this entire world Katashi was the only person that actually cared about me and would probably be the only person that felt sad about my disappearance.

I hugged the pillow tighter to my chest and buried my head into it, wishing that I could be hugging my brother right now instead of this hospital smelling pillow.

I reached up and fingered the necklace that I had been given earlier that day and I felt more tears in my eyes as I thought about how Katashi had looked as I was taken away. How worried and helpless he must have felt, watching his little sister being taken away from him, not being able to do anything.

I sniffled and made myself stop thinking, hoping that I would be able to fall asleep.

But no matter what I did I kept wondering about what was going to happen to me.

Finally after a couple of hours of tossing and turning I fell into a restless sleep, clutching my necklace.

* * *

Takeshi- military, warrior

Kunai- Type of knife ninja use

Shinjun Ansatsu ya Gomon Yunitto- Infiltration, Assassination and Torture Unit (I Google translate this shit so if anyone knows if this is wrong please tell me!)

Shin'yu- short version I made up of ^ that. Like ANBU or ROOT but Iwa version.

Yup! so that's the end of chapter 3! If any of you who read this know Japanese and find that the word that I used in this chapter wrong please tell me! And sorry about the angst but the story is labelled Drama... Oh and there will be a slight time skip in the next chapter, nothing major though! Its just I didn't want to write about two years of complete angst... so yeah.

And don't mind Hibiki's potty mouth, she's been through a lot so you have to cut her some slack.

Anyway! I hope you all have a wonderful evening/morning/night! And may the odds be ever in your favour!

See ya next time!

~Hela


	5. Mission and Annoyance

Helloo people! I am so excited! I have 10 people who favourited and 20 who are following me! XD It makes me so happy to see people reading my story! By the way, sorry for the wait, but I have exams this week! So... yeah, my life has been a bit hectic because of that... hahaha... Anyway I hope you like that chapter and I will see you at the bottom!

And a shout out to _Kyprioth_, the Guest reviewer, and _iluvfairytale_ for reveiwing! XD they make me feel loved!

To Kryprioth: you are welcome! and thank you the muses must have heard you and gave me some good ideas! ;P

To Guest: dont be counting Hibiki out yet, she has a few things up her sleeve! :3

And to iluvfairytale... I like your enthusiasm! :D

Anyway, carry on my dearies!

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word count: 5104

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"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C. S. Lewis

"I may be crazy, but it keeps me from going insane." -Waylon Jennings

Chapter 4

_I really hate it here_, I thought to myself as I dodged a kick aimed for my side.

It had been two years since I found myself at this place. And true to what 'Takeshi-sensei' (as we _have_ to call him) said this place is hell.

Think I'm over exaggerating? Well, I'm not. During the first week of all of us being here at least three of them were whipped by Takeshi because they 'weren't trying hard enough' or were 'Talking too much'.

I was one of those kids.

I still have the scar on my back that serves as a reminder of it. See, the way that they work is if you get a punishment you go through all kinds of pain, and then afterwards you are healed by a medic-nin who makes all of the cuts and bruises go away. But the catch is that they leave one scar that serves as a reminder of what you have gone through (I have dozens of scars already). It's a brutal and cruel way of teaching children, but I'll admit that it is effective. Within the two years that the program has started almost all of the older kids were at least Chuunin in strength and were already taking missions for the village. And most of the younger children were at least Genin in most of what they did. Ninjutsu was restricted to those over three so I was only just starting on thing like chakra and the like. However, because of Takeshi's harsh way of teaching and his inability to go easy on children we have lost a few of the kids that originally were here. Yeah, so children have died here because this psycho couldn't stop himself from spearing them with a pillar of earth. (On a side note on that day I learned that porridge looks the same coming out of your stomach as it does going in.)

But it got worse.

Every other day we were put under intense torture (mental, emotional, physical, whatever you can think of we have been put through it) so that we don't 'give away village secrets if we were ever caught by enemy shinobi'. It was horrible and I worked very hard to repress every memory of those moments.

I was thrown back as a foot came into contact with my face. I struggled to get up, but we had been going at it for half an hour already and my three year old body wasn't going to allow me to put any more stress on it.

But I gritted my teeth and was about to force myself to get up anyway, when I felt a sharp metal object on my neck.

"Do you yield?"

I looked up and met the blue eyes that were looking at me with a mixture of amusement and determination. I really hated going up against Akira because _every_ time I lost and he seemed to think that was funny. Yeah, it was funny when you didn't have to get punished for losing, you bastard.

Well, at least it was better than when ninjutsu was allowed, I just happy that I didn't have to dodge explosions today.

I gritted my teeth so hard I thought they would break for a moment, and then I nodded. Might as well get it over with.

"I yield," I spat out.

He grinned and got up from his position of kneeling over me. He was only two years older than me, but he was a good 5 inches taller than me. He offered his hand out for me, but I swatted it away.

He frowned a bit, then looked at the red mark on my face from his kick, "That was a good spar," he said, with a smile, "You just need to work on your stamina, and you need to fix your footing a bit, you're too unstable when you land and it makes it easy for people to tip you over,"

My eyes narrowed, "I don't need your criticism, just go already," I said with venom in my voice, he didn't need to rub in the fact that I was not as good as him.

I didn't let the fact that there was a bit of hurt in his eyes affect me.

_Damn blondes_, I thought bitterly. I glared as he let his hand finally drop and, with one last look at me, he walked over to the small group of children that seemed to be in high spirits. If you couldn't tell those were the children who had won their matches.

I got up and walked over to the western wall, that was where I waited for the rest of the children to finish with their fights. I crossed my arms as I rested my back on the wall and frowned. The winners would be able to go to lunch, while the losers had to be held back for punishment.

I just hoped that we would be finished with the penalties before lunch was over, last time we had had a torture session and had missed both lunch and dinner.

As I watched the other children fight I thought about what I had been taught over the two years.

I had been taught the basic taijutsu stances and kata that Iwa was known for, although I had adjusted it slightly because of the fact that I was a girl and was slightly more flexible than most boys. I had long since activated my chakra (first thing we were taught) but it was I had recently been given a crash course in meditation and chakra control and was making a little head way in that, but not much. For the most part I was just focusing on expanding my meager reserves. My genjutsu was non-existent because of my cruddy control so I would have to work on that, same with my ninjutsu. My aim was fairly good when working with kunai and shuriken (9 out of 10 on a good day), but anything thinner than regular senbon (there were different sizes) and my aim was slightly skewed. I had been taught stealth and the art of acting, for infiltration missions. As well as many techniques that will be used for assassination. And unfortunately we had just started working on what to do in the torture department. I shuddered as I remembered the screams of the man they had brought in to… _demonstrate_ what a professional torture session looked like. I didn't even know a man could scream that high….

And oddly enough we had also been taught how to enter and manage our mindscape, which is probably the only reason I haven't gone completely insane yet (it was a great way to suppress and lock away memories that were rather… unsavoury). But after Hanako completely lost it a year ago and attacked everything in sight they made it a priority to make sure we were at least _somewhat_ sane. … But you would never think that an eight year old could do so much damage in such a short amount of time.

Oh! And I almost forgot, sometime during my stay at this hellish place I had been diagnosed with chakra sensitivity. Meaning that I was a sensor. Wasn't that just _great!... _No, no it was not. It meant that I had to learn more from the man that I honestly thought was mentally insane and a sociopath (I am talking about Takeshi by the way). It's not like I could even do much anyway, I had a small chakra reserve so that meant small sensing radius (about 8 feet). Add to the fact that I had to spar with said insane sociopath _blindfolded_, and it was a goddamn miracle that I was even alive at the moment.

I came out of my daze as I heard Takeshi yelling.

"Alrighty, brats! Those of you who won your match can go down to the cafeteria to grab some food and those that lost will stay with me!" I watched as Akira and the rest of the children exited the arena and couldn't stop the feeling of jealousy that flared.

I really wished that I had won my match, because if I knew the look in Takeshi's eyes he was feeling particularly sadistic today and that was never a good thing for the losers. Especially, when you considered the fact that he seemed to have taken a liking to making me suffer.

_This was going to hurt_, I thought with dread as we were lead into what I had nicknamed the 'Red Rooms'.

You're probably wondering why I call them that, right?

It was because no matter how many times you cleaned those rooms you could never get the red stains out.

I really hated it here.

.o0 - 0o.

"You're getting your first mission today,"

My eyes bulged and I spat out the water I had been drinking, getting the kid sitting across from me drenched. The boy sputtered, shot me a glare and went to go get cleaned up. I coughed for a minute before looking at the person who had spoken.

Akira was standing there in all 3' 3'' of glory. His platinum blonde hair was cut so that it rested at chin length, his fringe covered most of the left side of his face. His sky blue eyes were looking unusually serious as he watched me get my air back. His pale skin was looking even more white than normal that the X shaped scar on his left cheek stood out and I found that mildly disturbing.

After all, what did it matter to him if it was my first mission?

"How do you know this?" I was a little suspicious, but could you blame me? Here the kids had to work hard to beat one another and it wasn't completely uncommon for them to try to get the other in trouble. One time a child actually tricked another into thinking that it was okay for them to leave the building. The one that tried to leave was killed on sight and the one who tricked him was reprimanded very harshly.

No, I intended on keeping all of my limbs, thank you very much.

"Because it's mine as well," he said grimly and gave me a scroll. I looked it over carefully, making sure there were no fuuinjutsu seals on it that could cause me damage. You could never be too cautious.

When I found none I opened it up and quickly read the contents.

My eyebrows shot up and I had to reread the scroll to make sure that I had just read that correctly. I sighed when I put the scroll back down and met Akira's eyes. There was an understanding in my eyes now and I gave him an acknowledging nod. Now I knew why he was so shaken by the idea of a mission.

It was an assassination mission.

You might be thinking that this was a little much for our first mission, but you are forgetting that we were currently at war. Iwa was trying to use everything that they could to win this war and they weren't above sending kids out to do the dirty work. Besides, I had wondering when I would be getting my first mission, considering the fact that I was now three (and a quarter) years old and was pretty decently trained.

And besides, who would even think that a child would be their killer?

I got up and with one more nod to Akira I went to go get ready. The mission was set to start within the next hour and I had to get my stuff together.

_Time to put those acting skill to the test,_ I thought as I left the cafeteria.

.

.

.

As I stumbled into the clearing I looked around and in my haste tripped over a root. I had been running for a long time from the scary men. I whimpered as I felt my kimono rip and my knees stung as they were shredded. Where was Aniki? What had happened to him?

Standing up, I began looking around the forest with frantic eyes, as if that would allow me to see through the trees.

I began to call out, maybe that would help my find Aniki, "Aniki! Where are you?" I sniffled as there was no answer. "Aniki, I'm scared! Where are you! _Aniki!_" I screamed and I felt tears run down my cheeks as my cries went unanswered.

I heard a sound come from behind me and I turned. A terrified squeak left my lips as I noticed that there was a man a few feet behind me.

He was average height, shoulder length brown hair, and was wearing black pants with a mesh shirt under a green flak jacket. But what really caught my attention was on the piece of cloth on his forehead. There was a metal plate there with a stylised leaf on it.

I slipped as I tried to take step backward and managed to scrape my palms on the rough ground.

I scrambled backwards and shook when my back hit a tree. "Wh-who a-are y-y-you?" I squeaked when the man began to make his way towards me. He was so scary!

The man raised his hands in a calming gesture, "Oujo-san, I don't mean you any harm. I was just wondering what a young girl such as you would be doing running around the boarders of Ame no Kuni and Hi no Kuni?" He then knelt down about a foot in front of me, far enough away so that I wouldn't feel trapped.

I sniffled, "Me and Aniki were taken by some very bad men! We were going to go fishing that day and then some mean men came and said… um… they said something really mean! And then me and Aniki were put in a box and it wasn't a very big box so me and Aniki were really squished!" I said talking really fast. The man scrunched his face as he tried to understand what I had just said.

"Then how did you and your… Aniki get away from the bad men?" he questioned.

"I don't really know, one minute the mean men were talking and then there were these really loud explosions and me and Aniki were thrown out of that really small box! Me and Aniki were running away from the loud noises when we got separated…." I trailed off and started hiccupping, "I don't know where Aniki is!" I looked at the man with tears in my eyes.

The man took a long look at my face, "Alright, oujo-san, I'll help you find your Aniki,"

I looked at him, my hiccups slowing. "You will?"

He nodded and stood up. I gave him a blinding grin and stood up as well. I wobbled for a second and then pitched forward. I quickly grabbed the man's right leg for support and once I stabilized I looked up and gave the man another grin.

The man smiled and made sure I had the tree to hold onto before he turned and got down low. I looked at the man for a second.

He gave me a grin, "We will find your brother quicker this way,"

I hesitated for a second before nodding and allowing the man to give me a piggyback ride. He adjusted me for a minute because I had never been given a piggyback ride before and I honestly didn't know how to sit. While he was adjusting me, however, I reached into the sleeve of my kimono and from one of the hidden pockets I pulled out a piece of paper, no bigger than a five dollar bill in my old life. The paper had a bunch of squiggles and rune like markings on it that I knew to be very dangerous. While the man was still distracted with my inability to get a proper grip on his back, I carefully tried to put the piece of paper on him.

_Tried_ being the word because I only got the damned thing halfway on him before I felt a hand grab the back of my kimono and I was sent flying across the clearing. I quickly maneuvered myself so that I didn't hit the tree head first. I winced as I hit the tree with enough force to hear a crack.

_I really hope that was the tree_, I thought as I watched the man rip the exploding tag from the where I had been trying to stick it on his back. He glanced at the tag before he ripped it in half. Hey, that is expensive!

"So, you're a kunoichi," the man stated. The smile was gone from his eyes now as he appraised me.

I glared at him and made a move to stand, when I abruptly felt a sting in my right shoulder. I looked over at my shoulder and found a kunai now sticking out of it. I hadn't even seen him move.

I gulped, there had been a reason that I had been trying to trick the man into thinking that I was nothing but a helpless child. I had wanted to test my skills in the field, yes, but the main reason was because this man outranked me in every way and I had needed that element of surprise.

As I looked into the man's now cold eyes I knew that he would not hold back if it came to a fight.

Good thing I was taught to always have a plan B.

I licked my lips. I would have to time this properly if this was going to work. First, I needed to stall him.

I gave him a smirk, "So, what if I am? What are you gonna go about it, old man?" I said haughtily.

I felt another sting, this time it was in my left arm.

He regarded me coolly, "What is your affiliation?"

"I'm sorry, but could you please not use such big words, it makes me think you are actually able to use that brain of yours," I could tell he was getting pissed off now. Perfect.

I flinched when I felt a small cut form on my cheek. As I looked to my left I saw that a kunai was sticking out of the tree. I felt sweat bead on my forehead as the adrenaline coursed through my veins.

Well, he seemed to be suitably distracted so I started to slowly gather some of my chakra.

He glowered, "I will not waste my time with petty games. You will either tell me your affiliation or I will be forced to use a different method to get my answers,"

"Oh, what's the method? Is it me having to listen to your boring voice? Because I beg you, anything but that!" I gave him my most mocking sneer.

I watched as the man started making hand signs and knew it was now or never.

I quickly did the correct hand seals, thanking Kami that there were only three.

Tiger. Hare. Dog.

I gathered all of the chakra I had formed and thrust my hands down to meet the earth and _shoved _all of the chakra into the ground.

"Earth Release: Ground Shield Jutsu!" I shouted as a fire ball was then spat out of the man's mouth and then came hurtling toward me.

My jutsu was just in time and as the ball of fire hit the wall of rock and I could _feel _the heat of the fireball.

Not taking the time to think about how close I came to being burnt to a crisp, I made a half tiger seal, focused my chakra and said the fatal word.

"Boom,"

I heard the sound of the explosive tag going off and heard the man's strangled scream as his right leg was blown off.

What? You thought I only had one explosive tag? Nope, I had placed another on the man when I had grabbed his leg to 'stable myself'. I knew I had been taking a risk with putting that one on (what if he had noticed?) but I was glad that I did now, it was probably the only reason I was alive right now.

I put a hand on the wall of earth and allowed all of my chakra to dissipate from it. As I watched it crumbled and noted the singed dirt, I knew that had that jutsu been just a little more powerful it would have gone right through and hit me.

_He hadn't been taking me seriously_, I realised. That jutsu would have fucking _hurt_ …but it wouldn't have killed me.

I looked over at the dying man and felt anger, which was kind of stupid because had he taken me seriously I would be dead. But it was frustrating to know that after all the hell I had been put through, after all training I had done, I _still _wasn't able to fight this man on equal ground. But then again the man was a high ranking Chuunin and had more experience in the field than me, so it was probably a miracle that I was even alive at the moment. Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

I shook my head, and after a moment I reached up and yanked out the kunai in my arm and shoulder.

I gritted my teeth at the pain and moved toward the man.

The explosive tag had done more damage than I had realised as I looked at the man. All of his right leg had been blown off, as well as half of his left. He was pale and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. His weapons pouch had been blown away along with his legs, and he obviously wasn't in any condition for using handseals, so the man was basically defenceless. Even still, I could see the man glaring at me. I could tell that he would probably die of blood loss if he was just left here, hell even if he was found he would probably die on the way to get medical attention.

I couldn't take that chance of him living, though.

So swallowing the bile that threatened to come up my throat, I slipped one of the kunai the man had thrown at me into my kimono sleeve pocket. I gripped the other in my hand tightly, and after a moment of hesitation, I threw it as hard as I could.

I watched at it hit the man right in the place where his heart would be. I watched as the panting breaths of the man's slowed until they finally came to a stop. And I watched as the light in the man's eyes went away.

Despite the fact that I knew that this would haunt me for the rest of my life, I watched as the man I had killed as he died. It was the least I could do.

Once I made sure the man was dead, I quickly walked over to the nearest tree and threw up my dinner. Then, once I was done with my fit, I walked over to the corpse and began the messy business of cutting off his head. I needed the proof that I had completed my mission or I would be punished. I went through the motions mechanically and I made sure that I kept my mind off what I was really doing for fear of a break down.

Once that was finished I pulled a small scroll, it was no bigger than an empty toilet paper roll, out of my sleeve. I unrolled it and then I placed… the head on it. A few hand seals and a small burst of chakra his head was sealed away.

The deed was done.

I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat and forced the tears trying to form in my eyes away. I didn't have time to have a mental breakdown.

I stood from my position and started my way toward Akira and I's agreed meeting place.

I knew that this would be a memory that I would keep locked away, so I took a deep breath and did my best to look all together for when I met up with Akira. Of course that was kind of hard considering the fact that I was covered in blood (and not all of it was mine), my kimono was ripped, I had two fairly deep cuts that were still bleeding, and I was pretty sure that my hair was slightly singed. But hey, I was still alive so that was just _awesome_.

I sighed and picked up my pace.

When I reached out meeting spot I noticed that I had been beaten there. Usually, that would have rubbed me the wrong way, but I really couldn't bring myself to care at the moment.

I gave an appraising look at Akira and noticed that he wasn't much better off than me; his usually bright blonde hair had taken on a dirty quality that looked nasty, the yukata he had been given for this mission had burns on it that I knew came more from him than his opponent, he had a few cuts and scratches and other than a gash across his chest he looked relatively unscathed. But he was covered in blood that wasn't his own and from the dead look in his eyes I knew that this had taken a toll on the young boy, just like it had on me.

So when he came over to me and took my hand I didn't push him away like I would have normally. I didn't comment when I felt the shaking and when he looked into my eyes I said nothing about the fact that I saw tears in his eyes.

I'm just glad he said nothing when I began to feel my eyes sting and my body tremble.

This wasn't friendship, it was the need to know what he did was the right thing, that he wasn't a monster for taking another human life.

For a while we walked (well, I stumbled. That jutsu, while low ranked, had taken most of my small reserves… Man I needed to work on that) back to the temporary base that our squad leader was stationed at hand in hand. (We had another more experience child solider with us who had taken out the other two leaf ninja as well as a member of the Shin'yu with us to make sure we didn't try to run)

But I made sure that once the base was within sight that I snatched my hand back. I wasn't trying to be mean, but the boy had to know that this wasn't going to be an everyday thing. So I didn't look back as I felt Akira stop behind me as I entered the clearing.

I felt at the place where my necklace was hidden and sighed.

Hopefully, the boy would realise that trying to befriend a broken person was useless, especially when they are beyond repair.

.

.

.

I stared at the boy who was sitting across from me at the cafeteria who was wearing this stupid grin on his face.

"What?" I snapped.

"Nothin'," he said, still with that moronic grin on his face.

My eyebrow twitched and I gave him an angry smile that promised pain.

"Then can you tell me what are you doing sitting across from me with that stupid look on your face?"

"Why, whatever look could you be talking about?" he teased with a sly smile.

My eyebrow was really twitching now. "The one," I ground out, "that you have been giving me for the past fifteen minutes while you have been staring at me eat, you weirdo!"

"Aw, Hi-chan, you don't have to get all grumpy about it! I'm only trying to be friendly!" he said giving a pout.

_This idiot_, I thought as I stood up.

I walked over to where he was sitting and I saw as his expression go from playful to scared as he watched my angry movements.

I whacked him over the head and started screaming, not caring that the children in the cafeteria were now watching our interaction with interest, "My name, Akira, is not Hi-chan it is Hibiki! Hi-bi-ki! Plus, I am not grumpy, I was just trying to enjoy my lunch when _some idiot_ decided that staring at me is the most interesting thing in the world! Who the hell does that? You look like a creeper and an idiot when you do that! Now, if you will be so kind as to let me get back to my lunch that would be much appreciated!" I yelled at the idiot as he stared at me in wonder.

I sat back down in my chair and looked around at the kids looking at me with open mouths.

"What are you all looking at!" I screamed at them, and I felt very smug as I watched them all turn around quickly.

I was going back to eating when I noticed Akira was still looking at me in amazement.

"What!" I snapped.

"That has got to be the most I have ever heard you talk," he said, astonished.

I paused when I heard that and thought for a moment. Huh, well I guess that when you are in a dictatorship like way of living it doesn't really give you many chances of talking with your peers. Never mind the fact that I didn't really know how to interact with the people closest to my 'age' here.

I wasn't going to say that, though, "Whatever," I said, ignoring the heat in my cheeks.

"Aw, Hi-chan, are you embarrassed?" he teased.

I felt my face flush, "No, I am not!"

"But, you're blushing!"

_"__No_, I am _not!"_

It went on like for the rest of our time at the cafeteria.

I don't know why, but for some reason Akira had gotten it into his head that I would be a good friend to have.

I thought about telling him to fuck off, but I figured that letting him found out how screwed up I really was would be a better way of making him realise that I wouldn't make a good friend. Maybe if he spent a little time around me he would see what a freak I really was and leave me alone.

I could only hope.

* * *

Sensei- teacher

Akira- Bright

Aniki- Bro/ brother

Oujo-san – young lady

Kunoichi- female ninja

Jutsu is not mine! I looked on the fan site for a low level jutsu and found this! I just made up the handsigns!

.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Because of exams I probably won't update again for a while, probably next Friday or that weekend! I hope you all have a wonderful week! And remember to just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, what do we do? We swim, swim, swim~

Thank you for reading and I gotta go and write an essay for my english class... I shouldn't have put it off until the last minute... hahaha...

Bye bye~~

~Hela


	6. Interlude

I'm baaaccck! Sorry for the wait, but last week I had exams and I had an interview yesterday for a summer job, on a side note I got the job!, and yeah... ahahaha... So yeah, I thought that I've been making Hi-chan's life hard the last couple chapter and thought I needed to you know give the story some light-heartedness... is that even a word? You guys know what I mean! Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I will see you at the bottom! :)

Big thanks to all those that reviewed and I really appreciate it!

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word Count: 3123

* * *

"It was an odd friendship but the oddness of friendships are a frequent guarantee of their lasting texture," – Ford Madox Ford

"I can't promise to fix all your problems but I can promise you won't have to face them alone," - Unknown

Chapter 5 – Interlude- Akira Bakudan

Akira watched the young three year old girl with emerald eyes as she practiced her katas. They had just finished a mission outside of the village and had an hour of down time until their squad captain came to check on them. While his team member decided to use that time to train on her taijutsu, he had decided to spend the time resting so that his chakra reserves had some time to replenish. So as he relaxed he watched as she went through the movements with a fluid grace that one wouldn't think would come from such a young girl, especially when said young girl was doing a style of fighting that was originally very rigid and straightforward.

_Then again_, he thought as he watched the girl do a spinning kick, _Hi-chan always did have a way of surprising people. _As he instructed her on the imperfections in her stance (which caused her to pout, though he knew better than to mention that to her in fear of getting hit) he thought back to when he had first seen Hibiki.

The night that he was taken to the place was one he would never forget for two reasons. The scar on his right cheek would serve as a reminder for the rest of his life, but the other reason was the girl in front of him.

He had been placed into the program because his parents were Iwa shinobi to the core and had thought it would be a wonderful place to send their three year old son because the Tsuchikage said so. He remembered being scared as he was _literally _thrown into a big and bright white room with dirt for a floor and then finding himself with a group of children that, like him, didn't seem to understand what was going on. He remembered watching as more and more children were dropped off into the arena like room and thinking to himself that they were all going to die. Then the door was opened one last time and a young girl, she couldn't have been over a year old, was taken into the room and carefully placed onto the ground he felt himself feeling horrified at the thought of such an innocent looking little girl being killed. I mean she looked so confused and shocked at what was happening she obviously didn't understand what was going on!

Then Takeshi was there and he scared her and Akira felt angry at that. Honestly, what kind of person likes to scare a child?

And then the freaking madman goes and cuts her! Of course he had wanted to go and help her when he saw that Takeshi had dropped her, but had been a little preoccupied with the fact that he was running from a sadistic man that wanted to cut him. Akira shuddered, remembering what a shock that had been when he felt the kunai pierce his skin.

After he had gotten his X shaped cut he had lost track of Hibiki until the next day. When they had been roused, yelled at until they woke up, the next morning Akira had kept an eye on the little girl and had been horrified when he found out how harsh the punishments were when someone talked back. I mean, all she had said was that Takeshi was a stupid jerk! And she had gotten whipped for it! Later that day when Hibiki had gotten her wounds treated he had tried to talk to the girl, tried to befriend and comfort her, but she had completely ignored him! And whenever he tried to get close to her she always seemed prickly or defensive, he just didn't understand it. So when they had started getting taught things like taijutsu or how to activate their chakra he had tried to help her because these were things that his parents had drilled into him ever since he was able to walk, but when he tried explaining it to her she got mad and said that she didn't need his help.

He felt really bad at the end of the day because she hadn't activated her chakra and was punished for it.

And it went like that for the next two years.

He had always watched her as she trained and tried to help her whenever he could, tried to get closer to her, but he was always turned away with cold indifference and a glare. And her glare was actually really scary even though she was two years younger than him.

But despite the fact that he was always turned away from the little girl he never stopped trying to help her.

Akira grinned a little as he watched Hibiki make a really concentrated face. She had just finished her katas and had started to play with her chakra. She had long been labelled a sensor type and was currently working on expanding her range, as it was currently only about 15 feet in diameter.

He felt a little smug about the fact that he was one of the only people that got to call the overly serious girl a friend. And he felt even smugger about the fact that, despite all the bravado and harsh words, he knew that Hibiki seemed to consider him a friend as well.

As Akira thought about all the times that he had been brushed off and ignored though, he frowned. Akira thought about why he even felt the need to help her in the first place.

_It's not because she's helpless_, he thought dryly, on the contrary the girl was far from helpless if the heads currently in one of her scrolls had anything to say about it.

He watched Hibiki carefully trying to think of why he wanted to protect this girl.

Akira saw the girl open her eyes for a moment to give a short huff in annoyance, most likely she was getting upset over the fact that her range wasn't getting any larger, and then she closed them again to concentrate again.

_Ah_, he realised_, it was her eyes._

Her eyes had always been the most expressive part about the young girl ever since he could remember. And it was her eyes that had drawn him in ever since the first time he had ever seen them. When he had first seen her eyes they had this lost and despondent quality to them that had stuck with him to this day. He had watched as her eyes got a determined and intense look to them whenever she sparred, and how they had a glazed and faraway look whenever she had to endure a torture session with Takeshi. He had seen how much lighter and brighter those emerald orbs got whenever she won a spar or whenever she was eating. And then that night that they had had their first mission he had seen that same lost and broken look that he had seen the first time he had met her, and he knew that if he didn't do anything… she would probably become completely hopeless like he had seen some of the other kids become. And then those bright green eyes of hers would become so dull and lifeless.

He couldn't let that happen.

So had taken a chance and grabbed her hand. He knew that normally he would have been yelled at or, Kami forbid, sacked for doing such a thing. But at the time he had been shaken by his first kill and wasn't in the best frame of mind, and he had been thinking about just hugging the girl, but even in his frayed mental state he knew that that would have been going too far. He had been shocked when he hadn't been rejected and even more shocked when he saw how undone Hibiki had become. She had actually cried! Well, the tears didn't leave her eyes… but they had been there!

It was then that he decided that he would do his best to become someone that Hibiki could count on, someone that she would be proud to call her friend!

Of course he hadn't been surprised when she had taken her and back when they reached camp, though he did stop to gather his thoughts on the turn of events. He then made a plan to ingratiate himself into Hibiki's life so that she had to accept him as her friend! So he tried to get closer to the girl the day after that and had been surprised when he had gotten her to talk more than a sentence or two. It was also very funny to watch the usually calm and collected girl become so flustered! Honestly, she had looked like a tomato!

Akira gave a little laugh when he thought about how mad Hibiki would be if he told her that she looked cute when she got all ruffled. He got a strange look from said girl, but he just gave her a grin and she rolled her eyes and went back to her training. But he didn't miss the slight smirk on her face before it was quickly wiped off.

After their first mission the days went by and he made it his life goal to get closer to the three year old. And he found that gradually he was being accepted as a person in her life.

It was slow going, but at least he didn't get yelled at anymore when he sat next to her in the cafeteria. Although he was still hit whenever he upset Hibiki… and she still got mad whenever she was critiqued by him… but it was progress!

Hell, he even trusted the young girl enough to tell her about his Kekkei Genkai! Of course, she had known that he had had shinobi parents and that he knew a jutsu that could blow things up, he had used it in his spars after all, but when she had found out that it was a Kekkei Genkai that had been a moment that he would never forget! Man, the look on her face when she had seen him blow up a boulder had been priceless! She had had this completely shocked and disbelieving look on her face! It had been so out of character for Hi-chan and had just been too funny to see! Although having to explain why he had the Explosion Release was tedious and then having to tell the girl that he was part of the Bakudan clan was uncomfortable… but he couldn't say that he regretted it. In fact, it was a relief to be able to tell someone about his past and not have it used against him in some way. Of course she grumbled for a minute about him having an unfair advantage, but he had known that she hadn't meant it.

It was... nice having a friend.

Everyone at the program tended to think that Hibiki was a weird child and that she was dangerous and unstable, though they weren't technically wrong, he knew that there was more to the girl than that. He knew that she had more potential than all of the other children, even him. It wasn't because she was a chakra monster (no that was what he was and honestly it was more trouble than it was worth sometimes), it wasn't because she had great control over her chakra (she was actually pretty terrible at it), and it wasn't because she had a natural ability to any of the types of fighting styles (ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu she had had trouble grasping in the beginning, and she still had problems with genjutsu). No, the reason that she would be great was because no matter what she had to do, no matter what she had to endure, no matter what horrors she had faced… she was always able to come out of it all stronger and better than she was before. No matter what she always had this defiant fire in her eyes that wouldn't go out. He really admired that about her because there had been times when he wanted to just give up and hide his emotions away, just to make the hurting and pain _go away_. But then he watched as Hibiki defied the expectations around her and how manages to keep the part of herself, the part that was completely _Hibiki, _despiteTakeshi's attempts to destroy that part of her and he was able to pick himself up and go on.

The little girl didn't know how important of a friend she really was to him or of how much she had really helped him, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to express that gratitude to her in the only way that he knew how.

Akira had decided that he was done being self-introspective, because truthfully it was giving him a headache, and he knew a better way of spending the short amount of time that they had for rest.

The little boy jumped up from under the rock outcropping that he had been sitting under and made a mad dash over to where Hibiki was sitting, as she was still trying to expand her sensing radius. Because she was focusing on her sensing abilities she was easily able to tell that he was coming her way and used her quick enough reflexes to flip him on his back before he was able to make contact with her body, sitting on him in the process.

Hibiki leaned over the boy that had just randomly decided to charge her, "What the hell are you doing, Akira?" she asked annoyed, but there was no malice in her voice, just annoyance. She knew that the boy had no ill will toward her and was just screwing around. Besides, if he had really wanted to hurt her he would just blow her up.

Akira just grinned, "Well, I was trying to give you a hug to get rid of that frown on your face, Hi-chan!" He said with exuberance, "After all, you looked really lonely over here by yourself," and cue devious looking smile.

Hibiki's face went red, and then she narrowed her eyes in anger, "I did not look lonely, you weirdo!" she shouted, "And what did I tell you about calling me Hi-chan!"

"You said 'why thank you Akira-sama for giving me such a lovely and cute nickname!'" Akira said sounding very serious.

Hibiki felt her eyebrow start to twitch and she hit him over the head. "Idiot," she muttered as she watched him writhe on the ground clutching his head, having a slight grin on her face all the while. She then rolled her eyes his dramatics and got up off him, then sat down a foot away as she watched him whine about his head. After a moment he sat up and scooted over to where she was and sat next to her, leaning on her slightly.

Hibiki felt herself frown at his odd behaviour, but didn't push him off. She had noticed the boy acting strangely (i.e. being unnaturally quiet) for a while now, but had said nothing because she had needed that time to train a little. Knowing that she should probably say something, she sighed. It was so bothersome, but whatever.

"Hey," she started, "What's with you today? You've been pretty quiet and it's really weird. I mean, I find your voice to be annoying, but it's even weirder to see you being quiet. You're not cracking on me are you? Because that would suck," she said. Then realizing how that sounded she flushed and quickly backtracked. "I mean, it's not that I would miss you or anything, it's just that it would be troublesome to find another partner that I could trust my back with out on missions. A-and it's not like I _trust _you or anything it's just that I know that you won't stab me in the back, y-you know?" she rambled as she tried to explain, though she only made it worse on herself in the end.

Akira had a smile on his face that rivaled the sun as he listened to the girl go off on a tangent, and as time went on and Hibiki became more and more flustered he found himself laughing. Truly laughing. It was a bit of a foreign feeling for him after years of being put through torture, but it was hardly an unwelcomed one.

Hibiki stopped her blathering as she heard the boy's laugh and when she looked over what she saw made her pause. Akira's shoulders were shaking with mirth as chuckles and giggles escaped his mouth, his blue eyes closed with tears glittering on the edges. The sight of someone laughing was one that she hadn't seen in two and a half years and for some reason she felt herself smiling as well.

After a few moments Akira calmed down and answered her questions, "Nah, I'm not cracking yet, but thanks for worrying about me, Hi-chan," His grin became a smile, "I was just thinking a bit that's all,"

Hibiki snorted, "Well, just don't hurt yourself, I wouldn't want to have a brain dead partner on a mission, you're bad enough as you are now,"

"Hey! I resent that! I am the most awesome partner that anyone could have!"

"Mmhmm, whatever you say, Akira,"

Akira smiled a bit and laid his head on Hibiki's shoulder. Said girl looked at the boy oddly for a moment, "Akira?" she questioned, looking perplexed.

"I'm glad that you're my friend, Hi-chan," he said in a soft voice, with an even softer smile on his face.

Hibiki tensed for a moment and then quietly, so quietly that Akira nearly missed it, she said, "Me too, Akira,"

They shared that moment together in the rocky terrain in silence. Because while their situation had not changed in the slightest, the relationship between the two solidified. And while they knew that their fighting in the war would just intensify and their lives would be in danger, they were comforted with the fact that they knew that they had the other to count on.

As the two of them sat together Akira made a promise to himself that he would always protect this little girl, someone that he was starting to see as a little sister.

_No matter what,_ he thought to himself looking up at the small girl who, for once, looked calm and serene, _I will protect the smile that I saw today. I will make sure that I never have to see that broken look on your face ever again. That I promise you, Hi-chan!_

He just hoped that he would be able to keep that promise.

* * *

Bakudan – Bomb

Kekkei Genkai- Bloodline Limit

Yeah... so Akira is of the Bakudan Clan! Which I just made up! Yeah so Akira's name actually means Bright Bomb, because I was bored and wanted to be creative... Hahaha. I gave some hints in the last chapter and I figured that that this would be a good way to introduce that, but if it seems to forced then please bear with me, as I am still pretty new at writing! I had a lot of fun writing from Akira's perspective, though I don't really like writing from 3rd person... don't know why. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed yourselves reading this, and hope you all remember No touchy! Or you'll throw me off my groove! Haha, I love Kuzco.

With lots of love,

~Hela


	7. Luck and Foreboding

I am sooooooooo sorry! I know I haven't updated in a while! It's just that my job is taking more of my time than I thought and it has been hard for me to find time to relax let alone write! Anyway after this week my job is taking a 2 week break so I will have more time to write then, but for now please bear with me!

A thanks to all of you reading/favouriting/ following! And a big thanks to _JackOfAllTraitsMasterOfNone_,_ iluvfairytale, Elememtal1000_ for reveiwing! You all are what make me want to write!

Anyway see you all at the bottem! ;)

Summary: Being a ninja is dangerous. You think I would've wanted to be a one considering I am aware of this? Ha, as if I had a choice in the matter. Semi- SI OC

Word Count: 3682

* * *

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

"It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew." -Henry Rollin

Chapter 6

After my first mission I was quickly put into the middle of it all. They figured that if I could survive fighting a Chuunin then it was fine to place me into the midst of a battlefield.

I can't tell you how many times I came back to my room covered in blood and injured to the point that I was surprised I was even still alive. I was just glad that I hadn't run into any of the characters that came from Konoha, though I have seen glances occasionally, however I never stayed around to check. It was horrible, amazing and terrifying seeing the extent of damage shinobi can do when they are fighting.

Hell, I didn't even see Akira very much anymore.

… It's not like I _wanted_ to see him. It just gets a little boring without being able to yell at and annoy him.

I was currently on my way back from the frontlines, and had decided that I was in good enough shape that I could have a quick look around the village, seeing as I only had some minor scratches and bruises. Seeing as the warehouse that the Shin'yu occupied on the outskirts of the village I had rarely seen anything of the village and was curious to say the least. They had finally decided that I wasn't flight risk anymore and now only had a small fuuinjutsu seal on the back of my hand to stop me from running. Should I leave the village without permission it would render me unconscious, a signal would go up that I had tried to run and then I would be handed off to Takeshi for punishment. I shuddered at the thought. It would be removed once I was back inside the warehouse, but I found that it was really annoying and itchy to have on.

As I made my way through the rooftops I looked down at the civilians and shinobi who were just going about their lives. I wasn't really looking at any their faces, and was just about to be on my way to check out some different location, when I stopped short (and nearly fell of the roof I was on) and I found myself looking at a familiar face.

Haruka.

I felt hate and anger bubble up in my throat at the sight of the horrid woman I was seriously tempted to use an earth jutsu to spear the damned woman. I could do that now, though I would probably pass out shortly afterward. My hands were itching to make the handseals and do it. I could see it in my head now, I would do the handseals and there would suddenly be a giant spike of earth goring the woman in the stomach. But after a moment of arguing with myself about if I should do it or not, I decided it wasn't worth the death sentence.

For now.

Instead I settled on following her. I don't know what compelled me to do it, but I did. It's not like I didn't have the time, I was sent back and was two hours ahead of schedule so they wouldn't miss me. I followed her as she made twists and turns that I could vaguely remember, and then I was met with a house that I hadn't seen for over two years. I had been taken about two and 7 months ago but for some reason I could still remember the house clearly as I was forcibly taken from it. I could even remember the screams of my brother and me as we desperately cried out for each other with disturbing clarity.

_"__Katashi-nii-chan!"_

**_"_****_Kiki-chan!"_**

I shook my head quickly to get rid of the lingering voices. I could feel a lump in my throat and my eyes were stinging, but I refused to allow myself to break down after only _seeing _the house. After the door was closed behind Haruka and I was able to vaguely sense her chakra move further into the house (I was making progress with my chakra sensing!) I jumped down from where I was crouched on the rooftop across the street and just stood there, staring. I didn't worry about Haruka, because if I remembered correctly whenever she came home from shopping she normally rested in the living room for a few hours, as if she had undergone some _great burden_ by just walking with a few groceries.

I really hated that woman.

As I continued to look at the house I kind of wondered how I never noticed that it was made completely out of rock. Then again, it looked normal on the inside so that was probably it. I thought about all the times I had been read to bed by Katashi and how bored I felt when I was nothing but an infant.

_Katashi would be around 9 years old now_, I realised still looking at the house. His birthday was around a month after mine if I remember correctly, though the memories of my first month were kind of fuzzy.

I honestly don't know how long I stood there in the middle of the street just starting at the old house, reminiscing about the life I had before I was taken to that hellhole, but eventually I became aware of the burning gaze focused on me.

The only reason I hadn't noticed it before was because there was no Killing Intent in the gaze.

So I turned to meet the gaze of the person staring at me, about to tell them that it was rude to stare, when the words got caught in my throat.

Standing there, not even 6 feet away from me, was my brother Katashi.

I looked him over numbly, surprised at how much he had changed in the near three years I had been gone. The once six year old had grown considerably in the years that I had been gone, he probably stood at 4' 3'' as opposed to my 2' 11''. His black hair was now a bit longer, it was just a bit longer than the tips of his ears and his fringe was made to frame his face. He still had some of his baby fat, but even I could tell that when he was older he would be a heart-breaker because of his angular facial structure. He had gained some muscle, and from the way he walked you could tell he had been trained in the ninja arts. I had to guess that the Academy had done some good if he was able to sneak up on me, even when I had had my guard down. He now had an earring in his left ear and I found myself a little sad that I would probably never know what spurred him to get the piercing. I found it even sadder that my brother was now 9 years old and I hadn't been a part of his growing up, that there were many things about my brother that must have changed about him that I couldn't tell by just looking at him.

I mean, did he have any friends? I vaguely remember him talking about him playing with some of the neighbourhood kids when I was younger, but I couldn't remember their names.

How much had my brother changed while I was gone?

"Kiki-chan?"

I was brought out of my nostalgia and feelings of loneliness when I saw Katashi take a step toward me. I saw the hopeful and near delirious look on his face and I felt my defences go up instantly.

Suddenly, I was reminded of all of my training as a Shin'yu kunoichi and about how _I was not supposed to let my old family members know who I am_.

"Sorry, you have the wrong person," I said, panicking. I was suddenly very glad that I kept my necklace hidden beneath my grey shirt whenever I left the warehouse or else my cover would have been blown.

Quickly, before he could question me, I used the _Replacement Jutsu_ to get myself out of the street and onto one of the rooftops across the street from my old house. I quickly hid my chakra and then watched as my brother looked around trying to find me.

I watched him until he finally gave up, and I watched as he walked dejectedly into my old house.

I watched as the door closed and I continued watching the house until I felt his chakra signature leave my field of sensing.

I got up from my hiding place and began my way back to the warehouse. I didn't let the moister in my eyes bother me as I jumped from the rooftops and as I got farther away from the house I felt my resolve strengthen.

_This would not be the last time that I would see my brother,_ I thought to myself.

Oh no, I was going to make sure that this was not going to be the last time that I went to that house.

.

.

.

That night I didn't sleep much. I couldn't get the fact that I had seen my_ brother_ earlier that day out of my head.

Instead, I remembered the times that I had spent with Katashi, recalled memories of a better time with him by my side.

When I finally did fall asleep it was with a smile on my face as I cradled my necklace in my hand.

I couldn't wait until I could see my brother again.

.o0 - 0o.

Of course, I knew that I wouldn't be able to go see my brother every day, but for some reason I was still ticked off when I was given a mission the next day that would probably last about two weeks.

I told myself to suck it up and that I had known that this would happen, but even then I still felt annoyed.

Usually I would be deployed with Akira, something about us complimenting each other's fighting styles or something, I didn't really get it because he specialised in blowing stuff up and I mostly just had my earth jutsu, but since he was still on the frontlines I was left with others of the Shin'yu to be my partners.

I didn't know how I felt about that. It felt odd being without Akira to back me up. But then again it's not like I had a choice in the matter so that just sucked.

But anyway, two other child soldiers who I didn't know well and I were being sent with 5 normal shinobi to track someone. Those of us that were of the younger variety weren't given the knowledge of who it was that we were tracking, or even why we were tracking them, just that once we found the person we were to 'dispatch' them as soon as we could.

I honestly found nothing wrong with that part of the mission, I had done a few like it before, but what I found odd was how little information we were given. I also found the people that they had chosen for the mission strange. From what I remember of the children with me, their names were Yoshiro (who was a boy) and Rin (who was a girl). Yoshiro was a tracker and a really good one if I remember my spars with him correctly, the kid could smell me even with the smoke bomb that I had set off that day. Rin specialised in poisons and long ranged weaponry, she tended to dip her senbon and kunai in a lethal poison before throwing it at her opponents killing them near instantly, though she had others that were made to slowly kill her opponents and others just for paralysis. And then there was me, a sensor type with an arsenal of half assed defensive earth jutsu and a few offensive ones. I didn't know much about the other shinobi that they had sent with us, other than the fact that they were almost all above Chuunin if the flak jackets that they wore (that were only slightly different than what I remember of Konoha's) said anything.

If I was reading the information right, we were going after a high priority personnel that was an obvious threat to the people who were going after them and who was good evading the people tracking them.

Who the hell were we going after?

I wanted to ask questions so badly, but I knew that even if I did I wouldn't get an answer. So I set about trying to get my information the old fashion way. I eavesdropped on every conversation that I could.

It used to annoy me that the older shinobi tended to deliberately ignored me and the other children but I had gotten used to it by now. Plus it just made it easier for me to listen in on their what I got from my eavesdropping was nothing more than the typical slandering of the person we were tracking, and the occasional gossip.

On our second day of tracking I finally was able to get some useful information.

We had just set up camp a little ways off from the trail we were tracking, and I had been busying myself with setting up a place for me to sleep, when I caught our squad leader Masahiro talking to one of the other shinobi in deep discussion. It seemed serious and they looked distracted so I decided that now would be a good time to try my luck at finding out what's going on.

So _very carefully_ I redirected some chakra to my ear, making sure not to add too much, because the first time I had done this I had almost blew my eardrum, and listened in on their conversation.

"-ure we are going to be able to take him out, Masahiro-taichou?" that was the other person; I believe he was a Chuunin. What was their name again? I couldn't remember, but they seemed nervous about the person we were tracking.

"I don't know, after all he has killed every unit sent after him yet," came the dubious reply from our captain. My eyebrows rose at that. It seems that the person was more dangerous than I previously thought if we weren't the first people to try and take him out.

"Kami-sama," the Chuunin whispered.

"I am not going to lie, we are all going to have the fight of our lives when we engage the target. So you better be ready for it, Hotaka." huh, no honorific so they must have been either lovers, which is unlikely in Iwa because homosexuality wasn't as accepted then in say Konoha, or they were really good friends which I found more likely. "And it is very likely that we are all going to die when we fight the target,"

My breath stopped for a moment at those words and it wasn't just me because it also took 'Hotaka' a moment before he could speak again.

"Then why are we-"

"Orders are orders, and our Tsuchikage has given us this mission with the intention of us completing it," there was a hard and almost final note to his voice and it gave me the chills.

I stopped listening after that and went back to setting up camp.

I really hated the kind of thinking that most Iwa shinobi had. It was the kind of diehard obedience that reminded me of the Hollo… the Hollo… the guy with the square mustache… Heim… Hit… goddammit the guy that started World War II! It was like when the Tsuchikage said jump, everyone jumped and if you didn't you were dead.

And I had a feeling that this was one of the missions where it was basically suicide.

_Time to make a plan... or five_, I thought to myself.

I wasn't about to die just yet, especially for something as stupid as a mission. I was going to make sure that saw my brother again, no matter what.

Besides, Akira would never forgive me if I died for something as simple as an assassination mission.

I stood up and began to make my way over to where I knew the Chuunin of the group had stashed their supplies.

_I wonder if they had any solider pills I could swipe_, I mused.

.

.

.

It was on the eighth day that we finally found our target.

We had been running for the past 4 hours tracking a fresh scent that Yoshiro had caught. We were now very far from the village, and while I knew that Tsuchi no Kuni was the second largest country in the Elemental Nations, I found it kind of weird that the person we were tracking was going _farther_ inland rather than trying to flee the country altogether. It was rather odd behaviour for someone who was trying to get away.

As we ran I could feel the air becoming increasingly hot and humid. I sniffed the air and frowned at the slightly sweet scent mixed with the scent of water.

Why would someone hide in a hot springs? Unless they taking the time to have a relaxing hot bath, but that didn't make any sense. The person we were tracking obviously knew that we were after them, if the fact that it took us this long to even _find _the person. This person was smart enough to evade 8 highly trained ninja for days on end, so why the hell would they risk being caught by stopping at a hot spring? It was counterproductive. The only reasons that I could think of for the person we were tracking would stop here were either that they had water type chakra and then they would use the terrain to their advantage, or that they were lulling us into a false sense of security by making us think that they had let down their guard so that they could lead us into a trap.

That thought nearly made me trip.

Shit! This was a freaking trap!

I quickly looked around our surroundings as we entered the clearing of the hot springs.

And I used the word 'clearing' lightly, because in Tsuchi no Kuni there were very little trees, hence the name 'Land of Earth'. Basically, it was a roundish bowl shaped ravine that had outcroppings of rock filled with hot water, that had a couple of trees around the edges (that would have looked pretty if I stopped thinking that someone was hiding behind them), and it had tall mountain walls to box us in, all while covered in a heavy layer of steam.

_Wonderful._

As we looked around the area looking for our target I let my chakra spread out. I gradually increased my range as my eyes scanned the steamy air, trying to find what lay behind.

I frowned when I felt an unknown chakra signature brush at the edge of my senses. It was _huge_ and it gave me chills as I made my senses spread out to cover more of it. And there was a weird undertone to it that just set me on edge.

I quickly turned to face the chakra signature, making sure to let the others of the group know that we weren't alone. I watched as one of the kunoichi of the group went through the handseals to use a wind jutsu to blow the steam away.

As I readied myself for battle I went over the information that I knew about our target in my head. Because, for some reason, I felt the sensation that this was a person that I should know. So, following up on the hunch I thought of all the information that I had on the person we were sent to kill. The target was a male from Iwa that had done something to piss off the population if the way the other shinobi of the group talked about him. He was apparently really skilled if the fact that he was able to kill the other groups sent after him. Also, if I was reading his chakra signature right this guy was obviously a chakra monster. This vaguely reminded me of a person I had heard of in my old life, but the only person that I remember that came from Iwa was Deidara and I was pretty sure that he hadn't been born yet. Or had he? Well, even if he _had_ a year old child wouldn't pose enough of a threat to warrant 8 fully trained shinobi sent to kill them, even a child from a clan that has explosive chakra. Who else did I know that came from Iwa? No one that I could remember, anyway. I told myself that, rationally, it was probably just some schnook that messed up and wanted out of the stupid village.

So why was this bothering me so much?

I quickly shook my head to clear my thoughts and watched as the steam was blown away.

As a figure became clear, I paled.

Standing there on top of the steaming hot water was a _very_ tall man (or was he a teenager?) dressed completely in a red armor with his torso covered by a gray gi. He was wearing what looked like a backpack that was emitting steam, and had a red mask that covered half of his face. He had his arms crossed and his light brown eyes were looking us over calmly, but I saw the thinly veiled anger and hatred in his gaze as heavy Killer Intent leaked from the man.

I felt my body tremble as I realised who it was that we had tracking, who it was we were trying to _kill_, and now I understood why all the other groups sent after this man were dead.

Because standing there with an air of danger and hostility, was Han, one of the Jinchuuriki of the village.

_Dear Kami,_ I thought to myself in horror,_ we're all going to die._

* * *

Rin- dignified, severe, cold

Yoshiro- righteous son

Masahiro- straightforward, wise

Hotaka- Tall grain

Taichou- captain/leader

Tsuchi no Kuni- Land of Earth

Kami (sama) - God

Yup! So we get to see our first cannon character in the story! While I do plan on getting Hibiki to meet more people from the series it will be slow going for all that I have planned while she is in the Shin'yu! I hope you all liked the chapter and I hope to see you all again soon, dattebane!

Byeeeee

~Hela


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